


Fortuitous Phone Calls

by madders



Series: Every Road Taken (Leads You Back To The Beginning) [3]
Category: Angel: the Series, S.W.A.T. (2003), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Clint Baron is Penn, Clint Barton is Brian Gamble, Clint Barton is Penn and almost every other character Jeremy Renner has played... no really, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-21
Updated: 2012-07-21
Packaged: 2017-11-10 10:37:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madders/pseuds/madders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...Or how Brian Gamble got onto SHIELD's radar.</p><p>Set soon after the opening events of the film, not long after Gamble has left SWAT.</p><p>Part three in the Every Road Taken (Leads You Back To The Beginning) series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fortuitous Phone Calls

Sergeant Dan “Hondo” Harrelson finished reading through the last of his prospective team’s files and dumped it on top of the pile on the edge of his desk. There was one file left unopened, and he flicked it open with a sigh as he read through the brief but colorful record of one Brian Gamble. The kid was one hell of a marksman, with scores off the chart, but had got himself fired over the bank hostage snafu.

Picking up the file, he took out the sheets inside and headed over to the fax machine, making sure no one was watching before punching in a number and feeding the pages through. He stood over it as it completed, before clearing off all record of the number from the machine’s history.

Heading back to his office, he closed the door and sat down, making sure no one had eyes on him before he took out his personal cell phone and dialed another number keying it in from memory, rather than from the phonebook. It only rang once before it connected.

“Danny,” the voice greeted him.

"Baby bro,” Hondo replied with a grin.

There was a beat of silence on the line before it exploded. “Three fucking minutes!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge, doesn’t change the facts, or the birth certificates,” Hondo smirked. This was an old argument between the two of them, and they were both well versed in it. After all these years, there was no ire in it, but they both enjoyed the verbal sparring.

“You’re insufferable,” came the huffy reply.

“Aw, don't be like that Nicky,” he laughed. “Sent you a present.”

"Didn't think you would be calling me just to shoot the breeze," Nick replied. Dan heard the sound of his brother moving about his office, and papers shuffling, so he waited. “Interesting,” Nick finally replied. “One of yours?”

“No way man,” Hondo replied. “Kid’s the best sniper I’ve ever seen, but he’s too much of a loose cannon for SWAT’s tastes. Got himself kicked out after taking a shot he didn’t have authorization for and catching a hostage in the crossfire. Ungrateful bitch is threatening to sue the city, so he had to go.”

“Hmm,” Nick replied noncommittally. “So he has a problem with authority and can’t take orders. What makes you think I’d want him?”

“Because orders or not, the kid was right to take that shot, and thanks to him they probably got out of that complete clusterfuck with minimal losses,” Hondo sighed and scratched his head.

“He has issues with authority for sure, but he doesn’t let things like political correctness and morals stand in the way of getting the job done. In my line of work, that’s damn inconvenient, but it’s exactly what you’re looking for. He’s a weapon, point him at a target and he’ll take it out.”

“Okay, I’ll bite- he’s worth a look. I’ll send someone over to the West Coast.”

Hondo relaxed, knowing he had done all he could for the kid. He was too good to let go, and he had a feeling he'd fit right in with Nick and his men. Didn't mean he wasn't going to give Nick shit about it though.

“What? You mean after I go through all of this trouble to find this guy for you, you're not going to come yourself?" he grinned.

There was a moment when he thought his brother was about to explode again, but instead there was a heavy sigh. “You know what, you're right. Fuck it, I’m the Director, if I want to come and assess a potential asset, no one has the balls to try and stop me. I’ll be there in a couple of days.”

“You need me to get you his location?” Dan asked.

“No need, I’ve got him,” Nick replied, and Dan could practically _hear_ the smirk on his face when he said that.

“Still older than you, shithead.”

“Whatever you fucker,” Nick replied, and then Dan was left with the dial tone in his ear.

He put the file back together and closed it, tucking it into the middle of the stack with a smirk. The kid wasn’t going to know what hit him.


End file.
